Bowdoin XC Classic (NY)
| NJ Top Boy Anzano, Drake CBA 16:24 |
| NJ Top Girl Gess, Briana Haddonfield 18:26 |
| NJ Boys Team CBA | 1st 37 pts | 2+4+9+10+12 | 0:27 1-5 Split | 16:39 Avg |
| NJ Girls Team Haddonfield Memorial | 1st 66 pts | 1+10+17+18+20 | 2:47 1-5 Split | 20:30 Avg |
The Boys Varsity 1 race had Christian Brothers Academy, Haddonfield Memorial, Ridgewood, Princeton, and New Providence go head to head along with other out of state schools. CBA won the race scoring 2+4+9+10+12 for 37 points and a team average of 16:39 and only split 27 seconds between them! Drake Anzano was CBA's top finisher second overall running 16:24; Jon Dooling, Paul Knepple, Nick Trigani, and Brian Hill all finished top 15 for the team.
The victory came without their number one Blaise Ferro, who was reported as sitting out due to precautionary reasons by Jim Lambert of NJ Advanced Media while talking with their coach Tom Heath. Ferro had been dealing with inflammation in the shins but has been stated as feeling fine and is training, expect him back for Manhattan.
New Jersey had plenty of top finishers in Varsity 1, Haddonfield's senior Greg Pelose placed third running 16:25 leading his team to a second place finish in this talented field. The Haddonfield boys scored 3+7+13+19+35 and had an average of 16:53. Colin Gallagher was the other Haddonfield runner to finish top ten running 16:41.
A big win happened in the Varsity 2 boys race as well. Voorhees posted a victory over pre-season nationally ranked La Salle Academy scoring 50 to their 68. Voorhees was led by senior Robert Whitney who placed third overall with a 16:35, he was followed by Chris Romero in fourth with 16:41. The Voorhees squad averaged 17:04 and only split 55 seconds between their scores. The rest of their top five: Joseph Capone 10th 17:13, Evan Minor 16th 17:23, and Matthew Vira 17:30. La Salle was without one of their top guys Jack Salisbury but this was none the less a huge meet for Voorhees.
Also a top finisher in Varsity 2 for New Jersey boys was Owen Long of Haddon Twp in fifth with a time of 16:49, and Southern Regional's Evan Adanatzain and Ethan Yates in seventh and ninth.
Briana Gess led the meet and New Jersey for the girls running 18:26 to win Varsity 1! The Haddonfield junior set the stage for her squad to bring home the team title scoring 1+10+17+18+20 for 66 points and an average of 20:30. Their top five were: Briana Gess, Kaitlyn Bonnet 10th 20:40, Izzy Miller 17th 21:00, Bridget Poisel 21:12, and Lauren Lynch 21:13. Gess' time of 18:26 was the fastest girls 5K of the weekend for New Jersey, third fastest this season.
New Providence's senior Jillian Turner continued what has been a great start with a third place finish running 19:30! Her sister Kelsey Turner came through in 14th at 20:52, Megan Friscia 16th 20:57, Sarah Zeto 27th 21:34, and Jacquelyn Keating 36th 22:38. New Providence's efforts placed them second as a team with a 21:06 average and only 30 points behind Haddonfield!
Also a top finisher individually for New Jersey in Varsity 1 was Lou Mialhe of Princeton HS who placed sixth with a time of 20:23. In the girls Varsity 2 race Haddon Twp junior Annika Merkh placed tenth with a time of 20:56.